The Night Thief

• At the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting, Muslims give the end-of-Ramadan charity (in Arabic zakat al-fitr): food given to the poor before the festival that ends the month. Ibn Umar reports that the Prophet (peace be upon him) made it "one Sa' of dates or one Sa' of barley" (a Sa' is a measure, about three kilograms, as the translator notes) for every Muslim, to be given before the festival prayer; Ibn Abbas reports that he made it "food for the poor". The food was gathered first and handed out on the night before the festival, as Ibn Hajar, the great scholar who explained al-Bukhari's collection, explains (Fath al-Bari, vol. 4, p. 569), and someone had to keep it safe. The Prophet put Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) in charge of it: he "deputed me to keep Sadaqat (al-Fitr) of Ramadan". Ibn Hajar notes that the hadith shows that this charity may be gathered before the night of the festival, and that someone may be put in charge of keeping it and handing it out (vol. 4, p. 571).[4][5][1][13][9]
• Abu Hurayra was one of the Companions, the people who lived with the Prophet (peace be upon him) and followed him. He explains why he could pass on so many of the Prophet's words: while others were busy in the market or working their land, he stayed close to the Prophet, "contented with what will fill my stomach", and "I used to memorize that which they used not to memorize". He knew hunger well: "I used to bind a stone over my belly because of hunger". That he remembered his own hunger when he caught the man is the film's telling; the hadith says only that he felt pity for him.[7][6][1]
• On the first night, someone came and "started taking handfuls of the foodstuff". Abu Hurayra caught him and swore he would take him to the Prophet (peace be upon him): Ibn Hajar explains that this means, I will take you to him to complain about you, as one brings a man before a judge (vol. 4, p. 569). The man said: "I am needy and have many dependents, and I am in great need." Abu Hurayra felt pity for him and let him go. On the second night it happened again, and the man promised: "I promise I will not come back again." On the third night Abu Hurayra told him it was the last time, "as it is the third time you promise not to return, yet you break your promise and come." Ibn Hajar draws from it that one may accept an excuse, and keep quiet about the fault of someone one believes to be honest (vol. 4, p. 571); al-Durar al-Saniyya notes that three times is enough warning.[1][13][9]
• Each morning the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked Abu Hurayra about the man before he had told anyone: "What did your prisoner do yesterday?", in plain words, what happened with the man you caught last night? When he heard the man's excuse, he said: "Indeed, he told you a lie and he will be coming again." Abu Hurayra was sure of it: "I believed that he would show up again". Al-Durar al-Saniyya explains that the Prophet knew it because Allah had made it known to him, and Ibn Hajar counts among the lessons of the hadith that Allah let the Prophet know things that were hidden from people (vol. 4, p. 571).[1][9][13]
• On the third night the man offered a deal: "I will teach you some words with which Allah will benefit you." He told Abu Hurayra to recite Ayat al-Kursi when he goes to bed, "till you finish the whole verse", and then "Allah will appoint a guard for you who will stay with you and no satan will come near you till morning." Ibn Hajar explains that the guard is from Allah, sent by His command (vol. 4, p. 570). One of the narrators adds that the Companions "were very keen to do good deeds": Ibn Hajar explains that this is why Abu Hurayra let him go the third time, out of eagerness to learn something useful (vol. 4, p. 570).[1][13]
• When Abu Hurayra told him the words, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "He really spoke the truth, although he is an absolute liar." Ibn Hajar admires the way this is said: first it grants him the truth, which sounds like praise, then it adds the strongest blame (vol. 4, p. 571); al-Durar al-Saniyya explains that lying is his habit. Then the Prophet asked: "Do you know whom you were talking to, these three nights, O Abu Huraira?" He said no, and the Prophet said: "It was Satan." The Arabic «ذَاكَ شَيْطَانٌ» means, as Ibn Hajar explains, a devil, one of the devils (vol. 4, p. 570), so the film says: That was a devil. Ibn Hajar adds that a devil can take on a form and then be seen (vol. 4, p. 571): in the film, the form of a man in need.[1][13][9]
• The film draws the lesson in one line: the truth is the truth, even when a liar says it. Ibn Hajar lists it among the lessons of the hadith: a devil may know something that helps a believer; a wise word may be learned by a wicked person who gets no good from it, and be taken from him by someone who does; and a liar may tell the truth (vol. 4, p. 571). Al-Durar al-Saniyya adds that it is right to learn something true even from someone who does not live by what he knows.[13][9]
• Ayat al-Kursi, the Verse of the Kursi (Quran 2:255), is the verse the film recites at the end. The Prophet (peace be upon him) once asked Ubayy ibn Ka'b which verse in the Book of Allah is the greatest, and Ubayy answered with its first words: "Allah, there is no god but He, the Living, the Eternal." The Prophet struck him on the chest and said: "May knowledge be pleasant for you" (Sahih Muslim 810). Ibn Kathir explains that the authentic hadith calls it the greatest verse in the Book of Allah, and the film's narrator gives his explanation in short: the verse "mentions that Allah is the One and Only Lord of all creation"; He is "the Ever Living, Who never dies, Who sustains everyone and everything"; never drowsy and never asleep, "no shortcoming, unawareness or ignorance ever touches Allah"; He has "perfect knowledge of all creation; its past, present and future", and no one knows anything of it "except what Allah conveys and allows". Kursi is the word the verse uses: Ibn Abbas said "Kursi is the footstool", and the seven heavens and the seven earths would be like "the size of a ring in a desert, compared to the Kursi". And guarding them "does not burden or cause Him fatigue". The Prophet also said that whoever recites Ayat al-Kursi after every one of the five daily prayers, nothing keeps him from entering Paradise except death (graded authentic by al-Albani, Sahih al-Jami' 6464); and the hadith of this film teaches to recite it when going to bed. Al-Durar al-Saniyya sums it up: the hadith shows the worth of Ayat al-Kursi, and that it protects the one who recites it from the devils.[8][15][14][12][9][1]

• The truth is the truth, even when a liar says it: take what is true and good, wherever it comes from, and stay careful with the one who says it.[13][9]
• Recite Ayat al-Kursi when you go to bed: a guardian from Allah stays with you, and no devil comes near you until morning.[1][9]
• Be kind to people in need, and accept an honest-sounding excuse: Abu Hurayra, who knew hunger himself, felt pity for the man and let him go.[1][6][13]
• Kindness does not mean being fooled forever: a second chance is good, and three times is enough warning.[1][9]
• Be eager for what is good: Abu Hurayra let the thief go the third time only to learn something useful.[1][13]
• Allah never sleeps and guarding the heavens and the earth never tires Him: you can sleep in peace, trusting His protection.[14][15][9]

These questions are written by Qabas Anime to help you reflect. They are not part of the hadith, the Quran or their commentaries.

1. Have you ever learned something true from someone you did not trust? How did you decide it was true?
2. Abu Hurayra felt pity because he knew hunger himself. How can your own hard times make you kinder to others?
3. When is it right to give someone another chance, and when is it time to say no?
4. Ayat al-Kursi says that Allah never sleeps and never tires. How does it feel to know that you are watched over while you sleep?